Not Invited
by staceycj
Summary: Dean thought he had been making friends at his new school.  It turns out he was incorrect.  Dean elementary school
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hey ALL! I have a second part to this story, but I wasn't sure if you guys would like it. So, drop me a line if you would like part 2. Stacey

When Dean took his seat after recess, he noted that everyone had a little envelope on their desks with their names on it. Billy Whitt the loud kid who picked his nose and who sat next to him was tearing into his with glee. Dean looked back down at his own desk and saw nothing, deciding that his envelope must have fallen off of his desk he began to look all around his desk and chair for the envelope and came up empty. He went so far as to get up, move his chair and look all around, that action only garnered him a glare from the teacher who, even at the tender age of 8, Dean knew wasn't going to last long.

His little eyebrows drew together in confusion and he tipped the chair on two legs and strained to look over Billy's shoulder so he could see what was in the envelope. His efforts were rewarded and he saw:

To: Billy Whitt

For: Emily Adam's Birthday party

When: Saturday March 6—Noon-3

Where: 1111 Elms Ave

After he read the words he let the other two legs of the chair fall to the floor, he rocked a little on the chair and looked around the room. Every single kid there was holding, opening, or looking at Emily's invitation. Every single kid, but him, had been invited. He slumped down in his chair. _This isn't right._ He thought and went on the hunt again for an invitation that bore his name.

He wasn't able to get very far in his hunt when the incompetent teacher took to the front of the room, demanded that they get their math book out of their desks, and demanded they do it in a hurry. Dean ducked his head into his desk and retrieved his book, then realized that he hadn't looked inside his desk. Maybe she had slipped it inside. She liked to play jokes on people, so maybe she thought he'd think it was funny. So he looked, looked under every book, under each sheet of paper, he was just about to start going through his text books when he heard;

"Dean Winchester. Why aren't you looking forward?" he knew that the question wasn't meant to be answered. She did this a lot. So he apologized and looked forward. However, just because he was facing the front didn't mean that he was paying any attention. He couldn't help think about the invitation. He couldn't help but think about how he hadn't been invited. He couldn't help but think about how it wasn't fair.

The longer math class went on the more he thought about it and the harder he had to try not to cry. He had really thought that things were different at this school. Kids were talking to him. Chad let him play four square with him and his friends today. Yesterday he hadn't been picked last in gym class when they played basketball. He thought people liked him here. He looked up and zeroed in on the back of Emily's head. She didn't want him to come to her party. She invited everyone even Billy pick his nose Whitt, but she didn't want Dean to come. He was happy that he sat in the back of the room, no one would be able to see him cry, not even Billy who sat beside him, because, like always, Billy was more interested in picking his nose than anything else.

The week progressed and all the class ever seemed to talk about was the party, what kind of food they would have, what kind of cake, what kinds of games they would play, and even what Emily's party dress would look like. He was never included in the talks, and the more they talked about it, the more hurt and angry he felt. He tried to get Pastor Jim to let him stay home on Friday, claimed he was sick, and when that didn't work, he claimed that he had a crisis of faith, something that he'd heard Jim's parishioners say often, and when they said that Jim ushered them away to his office in the back of the church and stayed there for hours and prayed and talked with them. Dean figured that if being sick didn't work then surely that would. But, Jim just chuckled, ruffled Dean's hair and said.

"Son, you need to go to school, get a good education, so when you grow up you can be someone great."

"Can't I learn to be someone great from home today?" Dean asked with a smile.

Jim chuckled again. "No. You need to go to school, learn to be great, and be a role model for Sammy." Dean hung his head and scuffed his shoe against the tile.

"Okay." He said defeated. Pastor Jim helped him with his coat and book bag and waited with him by the bus stop, Sammy holding Dean's hand and chattering away and never expecting an answer. Dean wished just once that he was Sammy's age and things like stupid birthday parties weren't important.

By the end of the school day he had convinced himself that he didn't want to go to some dumb girl party anyway. They'd probably have to play Barbie's or something lame like that. No. It was a good thing that she didn't invite him. He didn't have to go out and find her a dumb girl present, or anything like that. Yeah, he didn't want to go to that party anyway.

Even after making that decision, keeping his chin up all day, pretending to pay attention all afternoon, it didn't stop him from coming home tears streaming down his face. He tried to get through the living room without Jim noticing, but Dean should have known that it wouldn't work. Pastor Jim had eyes in the back of his head, he was more difficult to get by than Bobby, and that was saying something. Jim took off his glasses as Dean tried to rush past. As soon as Dean stopped, his green eyes ablaze with sadness and red and puffy from crying, he grabbed a hold of Dean's shoulder to stop any hint of forward movement.

"What's the matter Dean?" Jim asked. Dean didn't want to answer, he just wanted to get by, he just wanted to go to his room and finish crying like a baby. But that didn't happen. As soon as Pastor Jim asked his question, Dean began to full on sob and he couldn't stop it, it was as if the question broke the flood gates and once the water started rushing, there was no chance to stop it, no matter how hard Dean tried or no matter how much he wanted it to stop. Jim reached down and picked up the child, who in reality was too heavy for a man to lift comfortably. He held Dean tightly and made comforting noises. "What going on Dean? Why are you crying?"

"Emily.." Sniff Sniff. "She invited everyone else to her birthday party but me." Dean cried harder once he had the words out and Jim held him just a little bit tighter. "I thought they liked me here." He hiccupped. Jim patted the young boy's hair and sat down on the recliner. "I thought I had friends here."

"I'm so sorry Dean." Jim finally decided on saying. There wasn't anything else to say. Children could be cruel, and unfortunately Dean happened to be the target. Bobby Singer told him about Dean's experience at school while the boys had stayed with him- it hadn't been good. Kids didn't talk to him, didn't let him play with them, didn't even want to work with him on projects in class. Bobby said that Dean had cried a lot at the beginning but towards the end he got quiet, didn't even try any longer. So, when Dean seemed to be enjoying school here, Jim had breathed a sigh of relief and thanked God for granting Dean some friends.

It appeared that Dean and Jim had been wrong, that the children here had not been different, they didn't want Dean around anymore than the kids in South Dakota had. Jim just wished that these kids hadn't pretended to like him. Thanks to his previous experiences Dean could handle being ignored, he could handle being picked on, he could handle being picked last or not at all, but what Dean hadn't learned to handle was people pretending to be his friend and then turning on him. As Pastor Jim rubbed comforting circles on the boy's back he realized that God was teaching Dean Winchester another lesson. Jim just wished that, for once, one of the lessons God taught the young boy didn't result in Dean being hurt.

Jim knew that God had a plan for everyone, and if the lessons God doled out to this boy were any indication, Dean was in for a rough and solitary life, and that broke Jim's heart.


	2. Chapter 2

Jim opened his eyes after his small prayer to God for help regarding the sobbing boy on his shoulder when he saw the other Winchester child standing in the doorway, trying to hide, but failing miserably. Sam was watching his brother like if he took his eyes away for a second Dean would disappear and never return, and large alligator tears were falling from his wide hazel eyes.

Sam must have made a noise that was imperceptible to anyone other than his big brother, and Dean turned around, wiped his eyes and looked at his little brother.

"Don't' cry D! Don't cy!" Sam shouted. His eyes were so worried and so full of tears that he couldn't see as he ran towards his brother, but his whole life had been built around his big brother, it didn't matter if he could see him or not, he'd be able to find him, and he did, as soon as little Sammy made contact with his big brother, the tears that had been flowing only seconds ago stopped, and Dean did his best to suppress the hiccups and the sniffs. He pulled Sammy off of him, slid off of Pastor Jim's lap and hugged his little brother tightly.

"I'm not crying anymore Sammy." Dean said doing what most nine year olds were incapable of doing—controlling his voice.

Sam buried himself deeper into Dean's stomach, and it took all Pastor Jim had to control the wave of tears that were burning at his eyes. God spent a lot of time teaching Dean lessons about life, about being hurt, and being alone, but it was just like God to give Dean something in return, to give him something so precious that it could balance out the bad with the good. God had given Dean Winchester Sam, and a bond with his brother that was unlike any seen before. Pastor Jim hoped that the bond that the brother's shared, and each other, would be able to get them through the times ahead.

SNSNSNSNSN

The next day Dean pretended like everything was okay, he was learning as he got older to pretend things were okay, because, as illustrated the night before, when he let his guard down, he ended up hurting his little brother. Sam had been sick with worry the rest of that night. He had slept in Dean's bed, with his favorite stuffed bear, because Dean would need it, because Dean never cried, because Sam wanted to make sure his big brother was okay. And between the bear that had been thrust into his arms when they got into bed with the express command for Dean to "Hold Teddy. He will make the bad dreams go away." And his little brother tucked up against his back, Dean had been able to keep the sadness at bay.

However, in the morning, he wasn't able to keep the brave face. He wasn't able to just pretend that not being invited didn't matter to him. It bothered him all morning and when the clock struck noon and he knew that every kid in his class was at Emily's house right then eating cake, pizza, and ice cream, and playing games, and they were all doing it without him, and no one cared that they were doing it without him, he couldn't stand it anymore. Dean was going to go to that house, he had to see what was going on, he had to see for his own two eyes what he was missing. With the knowledge that Pastor Jim was down in the church basement busy with the clothes closet for the needy, and wouldn't notice if he and Sam disappeared for an hour or two he decided to take action.

Sam was sitting nearby playing with his green army men, and Dean called to him, Sam turned, "Come on buddy, let's get shoes and socks on and we'll go down and play on the swings." The swings had become Sammy's most favorite thing in the world. And he eagerly got up and went to the room they were sharing, Dean not far behind. Dean helped Sam put his socks on, his shoes on, and he showed Sam again how to tie his own shoes, because that was something Dean was determined to teach his little brother before he went to Kindergarten next year.

Once they were all suited up and ready to go, Dean held his little brother's hand and went down the street, across a yard or two, and they were in front of Emily's house. It was the house with the pink and purple balloons hanging from the mailbox. Dean could hear everyone in the back yard having fun, playing, and laughing.

This course of action hadn't been the smartest thing he had ever done. He thought this would make him feel better, that maybe if he saw with his own two eyes just how lame and stupid this was, he wouldn't be so hurt, that maybe he wouldn't be so angry. But instead of finding everyone there not having a good time, and being miserable, just like he was, they were all so happy, they were all having fun, and none of them cared that he was standing across the street, uninvited and unwelcome to join in their fun. Just as his anger was about to bubble Sam began jumping up and down and Dean finally turned and paid attention to what his little brother was saying.

"Dean! Look!" Sam shouted again and pointed to the balloons swinging around in the breeze.

"Yeah Sammy."

"They put balloons on the mailbox!"

"I see that."

"Why do they do that? Balloons don't go on the mailbox."

"They put them there because they are having a birthday party. Emily Adam's is having a birthday party today. I wasn't invited." Dean said without thinking.

"What's invited?"

"It's when someone asks you to come play with them or come to their party."

"Why weren't you invited?" Dean shrugged.

"I don't know Sammy. She must not like me."

"Why not?"

"I don't know."

"I like you." Sam said with conviction. "I'll always invite you to my birthday Dean." Dean looked down at his little brother, even though Sam was only four he was already smart, already understood things kids his age shouldn't understand. And his words were sincere, his words weren't something that little kids just say. There was truth behind them. Dean felt tears sting the back of his eyes, he willed them to not come.

He cleared his throat and said, "Thanks Sammy." Dean turned away from the house and the two began their journey to the park again.

"Stupid dumb girl." Sam mumbled.

A smile tugged at Dean's lips and asked, "Hey Sammy, you want a balloon?"


End file.
